Detroit Tigers: Players Who Just Missed Out on Opening Day Roster Who Could Appear This Season

Blaine Hardy
Age: 30
Position: Relief Pitcher
Throws: Left-Handed

This one is easy because Blaine Hardy is actually with the Detroit Tigers right now.

Although the 30-year-old didn’t make Detroit’s Opening Day roster, he’s currently on the team with fellow left-hander Kyle Ryan on the paternity list.

Moving forward, it wouldn’t be a shock to see Hardy rack up innings for the Tigers this season.

All the southpaw has done in his career has been produce, with an even 3.00 ERA in 126 innings since making his debut in 2014.

Hardy also owns a 3.30 FIP over the same span, while striking out 7.6 batters per nine innings.

The Washington native pitched to a 3.97 ERA in 11.1 Grapefruit League innings, and should continue to contribute to the Tigers all season.

John Hicks
Age: 27
Position: Catcher
Hits: Right-Handed

Every team needs a third catcher who is a phone call away in Triple-A, and for the Detroit Tigers, that’s John Hicks.

Even with Bryan Holaday back with the Mud Hens and Grayson Greiner steadily climbing the organizational ladder, Hicks remains the only one of the trio who is on the 40-man roster.

This makes his path to the Majors much easier in the event of an injury to James McCann or Alex Avila.

While Hicks only batted .120 with a home run and three RBI in 16 Spring Training games, he showed plenty of promise in the minors last year.

In 93 games split between Double-A and Triple-A in Minnesota and Detroit’s minor league systems, Hicks batted .310 with an .838 OPS.

He also chipped in with 47 RBI, 23 doubles, 10 home runs, four stolen bases and a triple. Overall, the backstop threw out 38% of would-be base stealers.